This past Friday, I attended the Community Town Hall on Racial Bias. This meeting was conducted because of an incident that occurred this past week in the freshman residence halls, in which white men were throwing rotten banana peels at black freshman women and their doors, along with drawing phallic images and writing the N-word on their white boards.
The town hall was held on very short notice, with most people only finding out about the event an hour prior. It happened in the middle of the day at a time when most students couldn't attend even if they wanted to. This shows just how serious the university takes this issue and this conversation.
The atmosphere in the room screamed that students of color on campus are being abused and need help. The faculty made it clear that they've heard them; they just won't do anything about it.
Student leaders from many cultural and Greek organizations on campus were present and outspoken.
What was abundantly clear was that students of color, specifically black students, feel unsafe on our campus. The incident that occurred this past week was in no way isolated; it happened last year, and it happened the year before. Speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos, who specifically target victimized communities and those who fight for them, have been invited to the school without regard for who it would harm.
What I was blatantly made aware of during this town hall was how embarrassed I was to be so unaware of how affected the black community feels on campus. It was made clear that our school is increasingly becoming a diverse place, something the university loves to put on display. However, the increasing number of students of color on campus don't feel included or validated.
Last semester's town hall on the general education requirements was brought up multiple times, in which students revealed that the importance of diversity in the classroom was questioned by professors and faculty. The fact that professors are unwilling to acknowledge a large group of their student body is unacceptable; these students of color are being dismissed as a demographic that fills a quota, and don't feel that they deserve to be taught and respected like the rest of the student body.
What the university needs to do is acknowledge is that this space is not as safe as they claim. They want to foster diversity without taking the time to listen to and act for the students they want to fill their quotas. As a white student, I want to be an ally. However, I can't serve that purpose if I don't know what is happening to students of color on campus. The burden has been placed on the victims to let the rest of us know what is happening and that burden is too heavy for students, who should be focusing on their education, to carry. Public safety needs to notify us of acts of violence on campus just as they notify us of acts of violence in Tenleytown.
We won't become a diverse and inclusive campus until everyone on campus becomes involved: the faculty, the staff, the students, public safety--everyone. The burden doesn't lie just on one group. Unfortunately, conduct hearings and emails won't fix this problem, and as much as student groups on campus want to make change, they can't do it alone, either.
Become an ally. Listen to your peers. Befriend outspoken students on social media to keep yourself informed. Attend town halls. Speak your mind. Make sure those who do wrong are held accountable and make sure you help to keep your peers safe. Nobody deserves to be afraid to step outside their dorm for fear of being persecuted on their walk to class.
